Well, after almost 48 hours of being cooped up in the hotel/convention center, I made it out to the Strip. It was HOT. It was probably the hottest it has been since I got here and it was 9PM. The desert heat has no clock.

It's great seeing all of the lights and people. The new thing that I wanted to see was City Center. It's the new (and long awaited) multi-use complex next to the Bellagio. It has two hotel/casino's (Aria and Mandarin Oriental) as well as condo's and a high-end mall. Think of Rodeo Drive covered and air conditioned. The architecture is really impressive with a very contemporary design and decor. The Aria casino was almost anti Las Vegas in it's layout. The stereotypical layout is very scattered with many opportunities for getting lost. This casino had wide and well defined pathways and all of the tables and machines were in tidy rows

A note for people traveling to Vegas. ALWAYS have a bottle of water when you walk the strip. Dehydration creeps up on you. Also, avoid the insane prices in hotels for bottled water/sodas and snacks. Across from the Monte Carlo is a number of 24 hours stores (CVS, Walgreens, ABC stores) to get all of your snacks and drinks. There is also an abundance of what I call the "Flickers." These are the men and women passing out (and FLICKING) brochures for the strip clubs and escort services. When you are tired of your work, just think, "I could be outside in the August desert heat passing out brochures for strip clubs/escorts."

Krispy Kreme is also big here. Every casino has KK donuts in their coffee shops and food courts.